I chose St. Tikhon as my patron saint because his story stands out to me more than any other. he is a role model for me, and I feel lucky for him to be praying for me.

« Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 07:51:15 PM by trevor72694 »

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"At the Last Judgment I will not be asked whether I satisfactorily practiced asceticism, nor how many bows I have made before the divine altar. I will be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and the prisoner in his jail. That is all I will be asked." - Sv. Maria Skobotsova

My patron saint is St. Xenia of St. Petersburg. My husband's is St. Romanus the Melodist. My eldest daughter's is St Paraskeve. My second eldest daughter's is St. Anna. My son's is St. Seraphim of Sarov. Our youngest daughter's is St. Kassiane.

I didn't get one. My name is Steve, so I had spoken to the priest about taking the first martyr Stephen as my patron saint. On the morning of my Baptism, my godfather and priest informed me that I would be named Stavros instead, which is The Cross in Greek and a more natural Hellenization of Steve. So I said sure! Ironically, although I'm not Greek, my friends from home had all been calling me Stavros for years (kind of a nickname).

I chose St. David for two reasons; 1) out of simplicity since my first name is David, and 2) I want it to be said of me that I am also a man after God's own heart.

I believe that I share some of his attributes, such as writing poetry (though none as can compare to the Psalms) and being a soldier. Of course there are those certain attributes of his that I do not wish...

My name is Keith and our priest would often mistakenly (at least I think it was mistakenly) call me Kevin, so I naturally started there. Upon investigating the name Kevin I found that there are a number of similarities (I use that word loosely) between my life and the life of St. Kevin. When he was a young child he had a bad temper. So did I. Horrible temper in fact. After St. Kevin was sent to the monastery he spent all of lent tending to blackbirds that build a nest in his hands. I had a pet crow. One of his miracles occurred while he was cooking. I use to be chef. Another of his miracles involved him commanding willow trees to produce apples. My father is an apple grower and I grew up in an orchard. After sharing this with my priest he said, "It sounds to me like you might understand each other." I think it would have been insulting NOT to take him as my patron.

This is icon I use of my patron saint, the Apostle James, Brother of our Lord. My wife is not Orthodox, and while not against simple imagery, does oppose veneration of icons and of "dead people". However, given the general theme of this one, I can get away with this icon especially at this time of year!

When I learned that my name would continue to be James in the Church, my priest told me that the usual patron saint for those named James is the Brother of our Lord. However, I don't like to do things just by default . I researched several saints, but none seemed quite right. So I finally decided to pray about it. (Strange how that lesson seems so hard to learn, right?) In giving me the name James, my priest told me that it was to continue my family connections. What better connection with our Lord than with a member of His family. The "family theme" was quite right.

St Margaret Zakachurina, Russian Orthodox Nun and Martyr in a concentration camp, 1937. Next year I hope to have enough money to commission an icon of her.

regardsMargaret in Edinburgh

how much is it to commission an icon? although I love the print from skete.com my godfather gave me, I'd like to get a hand-painted icon of my patron saint someday.

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"At the Last Judgment I will not be asked whether I satisfactorily practiced asceticism, nor how many bows I have made before the divine altar. I will be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and the prisoner in his jail. That is all I will be asked." - Sv. Maria Skobotsova

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who can watch the watchmen?"No one is paying attention to your post reports"Why do posters that claim to have me blocked keep sending me pms and responding to my posts? That makes no sense.

That is my brother's Saint, also... he probably wont post on this thread as he seems to favor the more theological threads to anything else. ... Love ya, bro!

I'm curious:who's bro?

To answer the OP:St. John of Damscus, of course. I like the theological threads too. And I converted stuying while studying Islam at college (no relation), of which St. John is the Father, having been there at the formative period of Islam.

« Last Edit: December 13, 2010, 01:18:56 PM by ialmisry »

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

St Margaret Zakachurina, Russian Orthodox Nun and Martyr in a concentration camp, 1937. Next year I hope to have enough money to commission an icon of her.

regardsMargaret in Edinburgh

how much is it to commission an icon? although I love the print from skete.com my godfather gave me, I'd like to get a hand-painted icon of my patron saint someday.

This is the icon I asked Matthew Garrett to paint for me earlier this year. It's of St Luke of Simferopol, to whom I have a great devotion as I believe he got me through cancer (well, he got me the best surgeon in the unit - medical referrals obviously work from heaven!) and it's 6.5 x 8.5" and cost $250. I am very happy with it.

My patron saint is Saint Constantine the Great and I will adopt him as my patron Saint as soon as I join the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church My reasons are simple as I was scanning through Constantine's personal history I came across the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church and because of my search through the annals of history I feel one step closer from leaving my schismatic religion and entering into Christ's Holy Church.

Though I did not choose him but he was just given to me probably based on that it sounds similar to my civilian name. My civilian name is probably Western in origin and might be derived from St. John the Baptist but Finnish church seems to have a custom to pick patrons not based on etymology but by how they sound. Anyway, I'm rather fond of St. Januarius. There's a short life of his in OCA's webpage. His feast is on 21st of April.

« Last Edit: December 17, 2010, 02:16:03 AM by Alpo »

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But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.Leviticus 19:34

Long ago I chose St. Gabriel the Archangel. I've always loved the Annunciation story in the Gospels and so I chose him (or did he choose me?). And though this had nothing to do with my decision, I like the different ways his name is pronounced (Gabirel, Gavril, Jibra'il...) I do confess though that I sometimes wish I'd chosen a human saint as they've actually gone through the trials and tribulations that we humans go through. Though I will always ask St. Gabriel the Archangel to intercede on my behalf, I can now also say that I've grown rather fond of St. Gabriel of Georgia.

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"The Scots-Irish; Brewed in Scotland, bottled in Ireland, uncorked in America." ~Scots-Irish saying

My patron Saint is St. Gebre Menfes Qidus. I was not asked to pick a patron Saint, nor was I told who my patron Saint was. But since I was given the baptismal name "Gebre Menfes Kidus," I have always known him to be the patron Saint of our family. I pray to him every day, and I feel his intercession and protection.

So RCC doesn't have any problem with picking Mother of God as Patron? Interesting. In Finnish EO church that is considered as inapproprioate. Same goes for MP whereas Greeks doesn't have any problem with it.

Quote from: Lubeltri

St. Benedict of Nursia

the Father of Europe.

Why do you consider him as the Father of Europe?

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But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.Leviticus 19:34

St. Joseph the Hymnographer. When I was looking for a patron saint, I wanted some kind of poet-saint. I found out about St. Joseph for the first time on his feast day, and it wasn't because I looked up the saints for the day- I just happened to come across a reference to him somewhere. It seemed providential that I learned about him this way, so I chose him. He's the author of many important Church hymns which are scattered all over our service books, including the canon to the Akathist hymn and many other canons. He's also the first to refer to the Theotokos as "life-giving spring" which introduced an important iconographic motif. He was also a defender of the icons who suffered imprisonment for it.

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But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."

So RCC doesn't have any problem with picking Mother of God as Patron? Interesting. In Finnish EO church that is considered as inapproprioate. Same goes for MP whereas Greeks doesn't have any problem with it.

Quote from: Lubeltri

St. Benedict of Nursia

the Father of Europe.

Why do you consider him as the Father of Europe?

I'm not sure whether the RCC has a problem with that or not. Thomas Aquinas is my 'official' patron saint. Those are just the three I feel I have a special relationship with.

Benedict is considered the father of Europe because it was the Benedictine Monks who preserved learning in western Europe during the Dark Ages.

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"Would heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?" - Saint Cyprian of Carthage

My patron is Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria. One quiet night under the starry sky of the Scottish borders, I was out praying and his name came to me. I feel an affinity with him because through gentle means he converted my countrymen to Christ. As for the majority of my friends and family today, I'm the first orthodox christian they have ever known. I'm just a beginner, really, and need a good guide to keep me in the faith, and to share this with the world around me. With Aidan's help, I pray I can carry this responsibility with patience, love, faith and kindness.

My patron is Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria. One quiet night under the starry sky of the Scottish borders, I was out praying and his name came to me. I feel an affinity with him because through gentle means he converted my countrymen to Christ. As for the majority of my friends and family today, I'm the first orthodox christian they have ever known. I'm just a beginner, really, and need a good guide to keep me in the faith, and to share this with the world around me. With Aidan's help, I pray I can carry this responsibility with patience, love, faith and kindness.

wow, I was just wondering who Christianized Scotland. there is a tradition in my parish of celebrating a Slava with the cultural patron saint of your family. Serbs have St. Sava, Irish have St. Patrick. my family is Scottish (among other things, Scottish surname) and we want the saint who made Scotland Orthodox.

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"At the Last Judgment I will not be asked whether I satisfactorily practiced asceticism, nor how many bows I have made before the divine altar. I will be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and the prisoner in his jail. That is all I will be asked." - Sv. Maria Skobotsova

He is my patron also. It was an interesting story of how that happened with me: I had just gotten a thick packet of divorce papers and felt a strong anxiety come over me to the absolute size of it. Then for no real reason at all, like right out of nowhere, the Archangel Michael came to mind and about 15 minutes later, I was much calmer. After that, he was showing up in both direct and indirect ways (his miracle of the averted river forgot where was not far off). My now-sponsor gave me an icon of him (which was my 1st) and said to have Father bless it (which he did). When I started my catechumenate Nov. '09, Father said I needed to choose a patron. So, I decided to pray on it for a couple of nights, and the eventual sense (a strong one) I got was 'You better not as much as THINK about choosing anyone else!' I was like 'whoa okay--who am I to argue with the Commander of God's infinite Army!?' The rest is history!

-----

But I,too, feel that I have a 2nd patron saint, an earthly, human one who popped into my life not long after.

The New Confessor St. John (Ivan) the Russian

I can't even -begin- to tell this story (well b/c it's long for one thing, the other is that he has had such a beautiful and powerful effect on my life, and the love I feel for him as a result just defies description. His life story is amazing, and there are many stories (and even a book written by the priest of the church where his relics are kept) of many miracles attributed to him and his intercession. When I first told my priest about this, it started off as a question if Michael would have had a problem with me becoming close to St. John (because I was feeling a bit bad about it), and he grinned and said 'Angels don't get jealous'. He went on to say that perhaps it was Michael giving me a message of needing a saint with earthly experience, and apparently he was it. Sometimes I shake thinking of how much I love him (as well as Michael). It is truly amazing and beautiful how Christ works through His saints!

This icon of him is my most favorite, but I have another I'd like to post (it's large!). I -believe- it is one that is in his church of his relics in Euboea, Greece.

"If you leave me free in my religion, I will be very eager to carry out your commands. But if you try to force me to change my faith, I will first surrender my head. I was born a Christian and a Christian I shall die."

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

That is my brother's Saint, also... he probably wont post on this thread as he seems to favor the more theological threads to anything else. ... Love ya, bro!

I'm curious:who's bro?

To answer the OP:St. John of Damscus, of course. I like the theological threads too. And I converted stuying while studying Islam at college (no relation), of which St. John is the Father, having been there at the formative period of Islam.

Wow, this thread has been dead for a while.

"Bro" would be me, Isa, and of course the Archangel Michael would be my patron saint.

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"Funny," said Lancelot, "how the people who can't pray say that prayers are not answered, however much the people who can pray say they are." TH White

If I am received into the Church. It's my name. My mother gave it to me out of very convoluted reasons and for even more convoluted reasons, I ain't giving up the name my mother gave me, especially since I am named after an Apostle after all.

As far as similarities, well maybe:

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His [Jason's] house is used as a refuge by Paul, Silas, and Timothy in Thessalonica. Jason was arrested when the authorities could locate neither Paul nor Silas, and was made to post bail. He was not reimbursed.

I've been stiffed by some young upstarts fleeing from the law in my time as well.

There are appear to two divergent traditions how St. Jason met his demise. The Orthodox tradition, I hope is something closer to how I check out.

The downshot is that good old St. Jason usually has to share his time in the limelight with another:

St. Sosipater, indeed.

But in all seriousness, since I've always held friendship as a rather high virtue no matter the circumstances in my life, often for convoluted reasons above family and the like, it's nice to see St. Jason have company and know that at least in the Orthodox tradition he lived to old age with that life long friend in service to the Lord.

My patron is Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria. One quiet night under the starry sky of the Scottish borders, I was out praying and his name came to me. I feel an affinity with him because through gentle means he converted my countrymen to Christ. As for the majority of my friends and family today, I'm the first orthodox christian they have ever known. I'm just a beginner, really, and need a good guide to keep me in the faith, and to share this with the world around me. With Aidan's help, I pray I can carry this responsibility with patience, love, faith and kindness.

wow, I was just wondering who Christianized Scotland. there is a tradition in my parish of celebrating a Slava with the cultural patron saint of your family. Serbs have St. Sava, Irish have St. Patrick. my family is Scottish (among other things, Scottish surname) and we want the saint who made Scotland Orthodox.

Trevor, the main apostle for Scotland is St. Columba of Iona. Aidan was sent from Iona to establish a Christian community in Northern England. His mission doesn't really cover Scotland, except perhaps the very southern border. Look to Iona Abbey.